2006 Women’s Soccer Preview

Coach Mike Stehlik instructs senior Amy Larson during a game last season. Larson led the team with 11 points.

Senior Liz Peterson battles a Saint Mary’s defender for the ball.

Gustavus Adolphus head women’s soccer coach Mike Stehlik needs to replace a pair of all-conference performers from a year ago, but four of last year’s top five scorers and seven of 11 starters return to help lead a Gustie team that is hoping to bounce back from consecutive eighth-place finishes in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

Gustavus, which enters 2006 on a three-game winning streak, should have a balance of depth and experience this season as the 21 returning letterwinners are joined by a talented group of first-year players. While the Gusties should be solid defensively (they ranked fifth in the MIAC with 21 goals allowed last season), the team will need to find the back of the net more often in 2006 if a fourth consecutive lower-division MIAC finish is to be avoided. Gustavus ranked 10th in the MIAC with 19 goals scored and was shut out in nine of its ten losses.

Probably the biggest question for Stehlik is how he will fill the void left by the graduation of all-conference goalkeeper Tori Boughton. Boughton made 143 saves and allowed 20 goals in 17 games last season, allowing more than two goals on only one occasion. Boughton also posted four shutouts. Sophomore Ashley Ohlson (Anchorage, Alaska) will battle junior Julie Mahre (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and first-year Kelsey Dietz (Owatonna, Minn.) for the position. Ohlson is the lone returning player with experience, leading the Gusties to a 1-1 tie at St. Kate’s in her only game in net last season, while Mahre is a two-time All-MIAC selection in softball. Dietz led Owatonna High School to within a step of the Class AA Tournament last fall before falling to Rochester Century 4-1 in the Section 1AA final.

The Gusties will also need to make up for the loss of Samantha Engh, who graduated in 11th place on the Gustavus career scoring list with 51 points (22 goals, 7 assists). Engh finished third on the team in scoring last season with nine points on four goals and an assist. Senior Amy Larson (Bloomington, Minn.) and junior Jenna Iaizzo (White Bear Lake, Minn.) will lead the Gusties up front this season, with sophomore Christy Tupy (Eagan, Minn.) providing an offensive punch off the bench. Larson led the team in scoring with four goals and three assists for 11 points. Iaizzo and Tupy combined for eight goals, with Tupy knocking in a team-high five. Senior Kelly Bottenberg (Minnetonka, Minn.) and first-year Chelsea Craven (Sauk Rapids, Minn.) could also see time off the bench this season.

Experience and depth return in the Gustavus midfield. Seniors Liz Petersen (Stillwater, Minn.), Alison Rethwisch (Lakeville, Minn.) and Megan Tepper (Woodbury, Minn.) all return after starting at least 15 of 18 games last season. Petersen and Tepper will patrol the center midfield while Rethwisch and first-year Becca Hagen (Minneapolis, Minn.) look to control action on the perimeter. Juniors Amy Kunkel (St. Cloud, Minn.) and Tami Korb (Rapid City, S.D.), sophomores Ashley Voightlander (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and Callie Christensen (Bloomington, Minn.) and first-year Kirsten Thulien (Burnsville, Minn.) will all battle for playing time. Christensen started eight games a year ago, scoring a goal and two assists.

At defender, senior Shannon Quealy (Plymouth, Minn.) and sophomore Rachel Gieseke (Richfield, Minn.) each return after starting all 18 games last season, while junior Kathleen DeWahl (St. Paul, Minn.) and sophomore Jaime Tsurusaki (Apple Valley, Minn.) will battle first-year players Alison Dittmer (Plymouth, Minn.) and Rachel Iblings (Plymouth, Minn.) for the two remaining positions in the starting lineup. DeWahl played in 12 games last season, while Tsurusaki moves to defender after starting eight games in the midfield a year ago.

The Gusties open the 2006 season Labor Day weekend with road games at Edgewood (Sept. 1) and UW-Whitewater (Sept. 2) before hosting Grinnell on Sept. 9 in the first home event on the 2006-07 Gustavus athletics calendar. The Gusties then host Nebraska Wesleyan (Sept. 10) before opening the 2006 MIAC schedule Wednesday, Sept. 13 at Carleton. In addition to the traditional rigors of the MIAC slate, Gustavus also has midseason non-conference games at Luther (Oct. 1) and at UW-Stevens Point (Oct. 9) before rounding out non-league competition with a home game against UW-La Crosse on Wednesday, Oct. 15. A quirk in the schedule sends three of the top four teams in the league last season (Macalester, Concordia, Augsburg) to St. Peter. The only 2005 MIAC Playoff team that the Gusties will face on the road in 2006 is the University of St. Thomas (Oct. 10).

Gustavus vs. the MIAC
Series vs. Augsburg 15-5-1
Series vs. Bethel 11-1-0
Series vs. Carleton 15-12-4
Series vs. Concordia 21-8-3
Series vs. Hamline 15-0-0
Series vs. Macalester 9-18-7
Series vs. St. Benedict 13-8-3
Series vs. St. Catherine’s 4-0-1
Series vs. St. Mary’s 9-18-3
Series vs. St. Olaf 20-8-3
Series vs. St. Thomas 10-13-2